« return to puzzle

Give Me an M! Give Me an A! ... Give Me a Y!

Matt Stone

First, identify the 100 mascots who appear in the puzzle.

SlappyOtto the OrangeEdgarDingerOrbitHowlerArtie the ArtichokeAllie-GatorStuffColonel Ebirt
Washington CapitalsSyracuse U. OrangemenBaltimore RavensColorado RockiesHouston AstrosColorado AvalancheScottsdale Comm ColLowell SpinnersOrlando MagicColl. of William & Mary
Victor E. VikingThunderbugMr. MetAl the OctopusSkratchNorm the MinerTed E. TouristVictor E. BulldogMuddyOrbit
Portland St. U.Tamoa Bay LightningNew York MetsDetroit Red WingsOttawa LynxUNC-CharlotteAsheville TouristsFresno State U.Carolina MudcatsAlbuquerque Isotopes
ElliotAlbertEllsworthThunderMo the MuleObjee the BearTommy HawkEutecticTater the GatorAce Purple
Londonderry WildcatsFlorida GatorsSUNY-BrockportGolden State WarriorsU. of Central MissouriUS Coast Guard Acad.Chicago BlackhawksSt. Louis Coll. of Pharm.Norwich NavigatorsU. of Evansville
TC BearHarry the HawkSliderOskiLuckyIceburghOzzieSherman the ShorebirdMaddieNittany Lion
Minnesota TwinsAtlanta HawksCleveland IndiansCalifornia Golden BearsBoston CelticsPittsburgh PenguinsNashville SoundsDelmarva ShorebirdsNew York LibertyPenn State U.
Harry the HawkSir PurrCharlie the CardinalThrashRaymondSammy the SlugCharlie O.AceHowlerYouppi!
Atlanta HawksCarolina PanthersBall State U.Atlanta ThrashersTampa Bay Devil RaysUC-Santa CruzKansas City AthleticsToronto Blue JaysPhoenix CoyotesMontreal Expos
Archibald EagleExplorerOttoT.D.Al. E. CatCraterSuper FrogVictor E. LaneCharlie T. RiverDogMr. C
U. of S. IndianaLa Salle U. (PA)Spokane IndiansMiami DolphinsCharleston Alley CatsSalem-Keizer VolcanoesTx. Christian U.Kansas SpeedwayCharleston RiverDogsVanderbilt U.
StomperMonty the DragonNorseFin the WhaleHugo the HornetExpo ErnieAwesome EagleEvil EagleMario the DragonOzzie the Osprey
Oakland AthleticsSacramento MonarchsNorthern Kentucky U.Vancouver CanucksNew Orleans Hornets86 Vancouver World FairTennessee Tech U.Tennessee Tech U.Drexel U.Neath-Swansea Ospreys (rugby)
AlphieNeon LeonElvis GresleyTremorOrbitMuddyBurnieEdMr. WufOzzie the Cougar
U of Nevada Wolf PackPulaski Blue JaysGresley Rovers Football ClubRancho Cucamonga QuakesAkron AerosToledo Mud HensMiami HeatEmerald DownsNC State U. WolfpackKane County Cougars
NJ DevilMikeMingusHobartExpo OzScorch the DragonTom IIArtie duPenguinArty the Raider"Norman and Swoop"
New Jersey DevilsLouisiana State U.Berklee Coll. of MusicCasper Rockies88 Brisbane World FairPhoenix MercuryU. of Memphisthedatabank.comGlenbard South H.S.U. of Utah
Eddie the EagleAbnerErnieWally the Green MonsterOwsley the OwlScrewballOscar the OtterC. WolfSluggerrrrRally Monkey
Laney CollegeAuburn DoubledaysUWRF Chem DemonsBoston Red SoxFlorida Atlantic U.Reading PhilliesMissouri River OttersErie SeawolvesKansas City RoyalsLA Angels of Anaheim

Notes: Harry the Hawk of the Atlanta Hawks appears twice due to an error, but this error does not affect solving. The mascot of Northern Kentucky U. is sometimes called Victor E. Norse, but just "Norse" was intended. The last picture in the next-to-last row is "Norman and Swoop" which was mistakenly used for the name Norman. Norman is actually the name of the little boy in the picture, while Swoop is the name of the Mascot.

Now take the initial letters of the mascot names:

SOEDOHAASC
VTMASNTVMO
EAETMOTETA
THSOLIOSMN
HSCTRSCAHY
AEOTACSVCM
SMNFHEAEMO
ANETOMBEMO
NMMHESTAAN
EAEWOSOCSR

As suggested by the flavor text, find a path through this grid moving in various directions (including diagonally) using each square once. It starts at the S in the upper left, goes across the top and right edges, partly on the bottom, across the middle a bit, then down the left side and the remaining bottom, then the remaining part of the middle, and ends at the R in the lower right. It spells SOME TEAMS DO NOT HAVE MASCOTS. MANY HAVE COMMON MASCOTS. OFTEN MASCOTS HAVE THE SAME NAME. WHOSE MASCOT IS CARLTON THE BEAR?

The answer is TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS.